The present invention relates to a device for machining workpieces, in particular aeronautical parts manufactured from solid blocks of raw material.
Essentially, the present invention finds application in any given industrial art field where holes or similar openings need to be drilled or cut along the joint lines of transverse surfaces or walls presented by a machinable workpiece or similar manufactured item.
More exactly, the invention has application particularly in the aeronautical construction sector, where there is a need to place drain and/or communication holes of various shapes and sizes in the cavities of workpieces, machined through stiffening members or ribs and located close to a corresponding bottom wall.
In the aeronautical sector, and in other sectors of industry such as rail transport, it is typically the case that where hollow structures of notable complexity are involved, generally with one or more bottom walls and a plurality of transverse stiffening members, condensation is liable to form within the hollow spaces due to variations in humidity, temperature and other factors, and must be drained from the structure.
Accordingly, structures of the type in question need to be furnished with a plurality of drain holes drilled through the stiffening members, adjacent to the corresponding bottom walls.
However, there are notable difficulties with the placement of holes in stiffening walls or ribs where these members are joined to a bottom wall, due principally to the restricted space afforded by the angles between the adjoining surfaces.
Normally, holes and/or openings allowing drainage and communication between the stiffening members are drilled manually by assembly fitters who are able to reach the areas near the bottom walls directly and without difficulty.
Whilst the methods employed currently to create drain holes near the bottom walls of the aforementioned structures are serviceable, the applicant finds that such procedures are not without certain drawbacks, and indeed are improvable in a number of ways, mainly as regards the length of time needed to fashion the holes, the associated costs, and the levels of precision required in performing the work.
In effect, the practice of detailing fitters to drill the drain holes in question involves significant expenditure in terms of time and resources, given that the holes must be drilled one by one, and with high levels of accuracy.
The object of the present invention is to overcome the problems associated with the prior art.
One object of the invention, in particular, is to provide a device such as will machine drain holes through the stiffening members and/or ribs of workpieces or complex structures, close to the respective bottom walls, without the need for any manual operations on the part of a fitter.
A further object of the invention is to provide a device by which the aforementioned drain holes can be machined to specified dimensions and parameters.
Yet another object of the present invention is to reduce the costs generated by machining drain holes in workpieces of the type described above.